Line cutter for outboard and inboard/outboard motors

An apparatus that cuts lines, nets and weeds of the type that may be encountered by propeller driven vessels of outboard and inboard/outboard design when under way, said vessels of the type where the propeller is mounted to a rotatable propeller shaft that extends rearwardly from a propeller shaft housing that depends to a vessel's hull, comprising:

• keeper bracket means fixedly secured to said propeller shaft housing,
• said keeper bracket means configured to define a rearwardly opening wedge-shaped cavity,
• a non-rotatably mounted annular cutter ring disposed transversely to said propeller shaft, in encircling relation thereto,
• a cutting blade member mounted on said cutter ring,
• a pair of shear edges formed on opposite sides of said cutting blade member,
• a projecting wedge-shaped member formed on said cutting blade member and extending in a forward direction into the rearwardly-opening cavity defined by said keeper bracket means,
• a rotatably mounted annular bolt ring disposed intermediate said cutter ring and said propeller shaft housing,
• a rotatably mounted annular cutter ring mounted rearwardly of said non-rotatably mounted cutter ring so that said non-rotating cutting ring is disposed in sandwiched relation to said bolt ring and said rotatable cutter ring,
• a plurality of circumferentially spaced cutting blade members mounted on said rotatable cutter ring,
• a pair of shear edges formed on opposite sides of each of said plurality of cutting blade members,
• said propeller shaft having a taper formed therein,
• a centrally apertured inner ring member of reduced diameter formed as a part of said rotatable cutter ring,
• said central aperture configured in the form of a taper that corresponds to the taper formed in the propeller shaft,
• said projecting wedge member entering into abutting engagement with said keeper bracket means attendant rotation of said propeller shaft,
• said projecting wedge member entering into firm wedging engagement with said keeper bracket means substantially instantaneously upon the introduction of a load on said apparatus,
• and said taper formed in said central aperture of said inner ring being driven onto the taper formed in the propeller shaft attendant tightening of said propeller onto said propeller shaft by a mount nut.